This article was featured in the 2022 Autumn Newsletter by Megan Pistolese-Shaw-SLELO PRISM.
In response to the confirmed presence of elm zigzag sawfly (EZZS) in St. Lawrence County, SLELO PRISM is collaborating with partners to implement an outreach and early detection strategy.
We’ve developed a species page for the EZZS that you can find on our website which includes identification, resources, and a sign-up form to join an early detection effort.
We’ve also created an interactive map featuring suggested survey sites (see below). The survey sites were provided by regional DEC managers and include public hiking trails in St. Lawrence County that have elm stands and are near the sites in which EZZ-sawfly has been confirmed to be present. As there is concern about the impact EZZ-sawfly will have on urban street trees, survey sites will be expanded to include urban elm trees once we receive information from regional tree managers.
An informative webinar was held on Monday, October 25th with representatives from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Canada Forest Service and SLELO staff. The webinar shared an overview of the EZZ-sawfly, survey efforts in the U.S. and Canada and invited attendees to join the early detection effort and gave a tour of the map featuring suggested survey sites mentioned earlier. The webinar recording can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
